Apple says Mac OS X Lion due soon, invites developers to submit apps

Apple on Monday formally invited developers to begin submitting applications written for Mac OS X Lion its new Mac App Store, promising that a next-generation operating system will be released "soon."

"OS X Lion, the eighth major release of the world's most advanced operating system, will soon be available to millions of Mac users around the world," the Mac maker wrote in an email to developers. "Submit your Lion apps for review now so they can be on the Mac App Store when Lion ships this month."

The Cupertino-based company went on to recommend that developers build, test and compile their apps using the Mac OS X Lion Gold Master seed issued earlier this month and Xcode 4.1 for Lion GM seed, which was just released alongside iOS 5.0 beta 3 on Monday.

All indications are that Lion is on track for a release near the end of the week. People close to the matter told AppleInsider last Thursday that Apple is set to undertake preparations for Lion in its retail stores later this week, with a refreshed MacBook Air to follow soon after.

The $29.99 operating system upgrade will launch exclusively on the Mac App Store, marking the first time Apple has attempted an online delivery method for a major release of its flagship desktop OS. Last month, AppleInsider exclusively reported that the company has held back on new Mac models in order to image new machines with a finalized build of Lion.

Lion sports more than 250 new features, some of which are brought from the iPad and iOS back to the Mac. Notable additions include full-screen applications, auto-save functionality, an iOS-style homescreen, application launcher and new multi-touch gestures.

This will be an exciting week. Lion is a major update and I believe once people grasp that sales will be massive. It is also good enough to entice people with older hardware to upgrade. I see some really strong numbers in Apples future.

I always watch to see how quickly a blog corrects errors pointed out to it. The quick ones garner my respect because it means a) someone at the blog's watching the comments and b) someone there cares about precision. Two things not always in evidence...

Yeah, an AppStore review by Apple would take a week or so in the past so I doubt it would be this week. 29.7.2011 is more likely. Or the Monday prior.

The Mac App Store compared to the iOS App Store is considerably smaller. Also, the restrictions for what Apps can do are less strict, so even with a considerably smaller staff I don't see any reason why the Lion GM would be pushed back further unless the new Macs running Lion are not ready for their debut.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

I can't wait for Lion. I will no longer install any software unless it comes from the Mac App store. I want the ease of updates and the security I get with my iPad on my Mac. I know a lot of people disagree. For me, I just don't want to chase updates and broken programs anymore. I want it all to "just work." This includes printer software...ARE YOU LISTENING HP? I am not installing your crappy printer software anymore unless it comes through the Mac App store.

I can't wait for Lion. I will no longer install any software unless it comes from the Mac App store. I want the ease of updates and the security I get with my iPad on my Mac. I know a lot of people disagree. For me, I just don't want to chase updates and broken programs anymore. I want it all to "just work." This includes printer software...ARE YOU LISTENING HP? I am not installing your crappy printer software anymore unless it comes through the Mac App store.

I like many apps from the MAS and I'd be more willing to purchase them if there were a way to demo or trial them first. I know, I know, it's only 99¢ or a dollar ninety-nine and all that, but if you add those up and they're all duds, I could have saved for something else that I have had a chance to experiment with first.

I like many apps from the MAS and I'd be more willing to purchase them if there were a way to demo or trial them first. I know, I know, it's only 99¢ or a dollar ninety-nine and all that, but if you add those up and they're all duds, I could have saved for something else that I have had a chance to experiment with first.

I'd much rather like the ability to transfer my older applications that I didn't purchase there (that are now there) to Mac App Store versions so that I can get the automatic updates without wasting money paying twice.

I'd much rather like the ability to transfer my older applications that I didn't purchase there (that are now there) to Mac App Store versions so that I can get the automatic updates without wasting money paying twice.

I like many apps from the MAS and I'd be more willing to purchase them if there were a way to demo or trial them first. I know, I know, it's only 99¢ or a dollar ninety-nine and all that, but if you add those up and they're all duds, I could have saved for something else that I have had a chance to experiment with first.

Unlike iOS app store, the Mac App Store apps should be available for download from the developers website if the developer choose to. There are few developers who choose to make their apps exclusive to the app store.

Well Pixelmator made a pretty good deal with their free update to v2 so I wouldn't count them as bad. DVDRemaster had a 2 day period where their app was $5 and they send an email arround to everyone that previously owned it so that no one would miss it.

So there are some solutions to this problem. The feature I miss most is student rebate. Wouldn't it be great if I could just send Apple a student certificate every semester and automatically get the student price for every app (that supports it?)

I like many apps from the MAS and I'd be more willing to purchase them if there were a way to demo or trial them first. I know, I know, it's only 99¢ or a dollar ninety-nine and all that, but if you add those up and they're all duds, I could have saved for something else that I have had a chance to experiment with first.

Is anyone getting the issue in Snow Leopard of Invites from Outlook, etc. sent as ICS not going back to the Outlook systems properly using Apple iCal?

Annoying issue because some clients (and potential clients) of mine using Outlook/Windows are thinking I'm declining or not accepting their invitations, I have to manually email them and let them know.

According to Apple discussion forums, this has been happening recently since they changed the calendaring system (quite an overhaul really) a few months ago. Problem also occurs on iCal on iPad, which is a concern because with iCloud etc and people using iPad and Mac, it may not be interfacing with the Windows Outlook meeting system.

Is this fixed in iCal/ Mail in Lion? It's a weakness of iCal which I think Apple should tighten up, their Outlook/ Exchange Server improvements have been commendable, though I have no first-hand knowledge of that. Haven't used Windows for anything work-related for years, except to see how websites look in Internet Explorer.

I'd much rather like the ability to transfer my older applications that I didn't purchase there (that are now there) to Mac App Store versions so that I can get the automatic updates without wasting money paying twice.

i really don't get what's so onerous about this - registered owners of an app ought to be able to submit their apple ids to the developer, who passes them on to apple, who authorise download of the MAS version of the app on that account

how is that not possible to do? it would certainly dramatically speed the move over to the MAS. it seems totally counterproductive not to permit this

i have a 2007 imac core 2 duo 2.33 with 3 mgs ram. has anybody used lion on an older mac like this? i want to upgrade but am wondering if os lion will be slowing me down.
i am looking forward to faster safari but will not be happy with other system wide slow downs. any input would be appreciated. i dont care about boot up. imacs always on. thx